HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters

by Hunt, Sabrina

  We looked down, watching as dark veins crept through the earth. Next, to us, a tree seemed to shrivel, its leaves fading, and Cree gasped in horror.

  “We have to stop it! Now!” he exclaimed.

  Wes turned to us, his eyes uncertain. “You have a plan? Does it entail leaving it to us and not getting involved? Staying safe?”

  “You know it doesn’t,” Kalin murmured and kissed his cheek. “Now go.”

  With a growl, he shifted and took off, the other four following.

  “Ready?” I asked, shrugging off the backpack I’d grabbed before we left. Inside were bandanas and sunglasses for Kalin and Willow, and a map for Sky.

  “Stay safe,” I whispered to Sky, whose mouth went tight and she nodded.

  Walking towards Sivulk and the shifters seemed to be a strange dream. I saw Rayner in the distance, my heart leaping at the sight of him and his brothers arranged around him. Then Soren, cowering and confused on the ground. At that sight, my gut twisted.

  Then I was being hauled forward, brought straight to the belly of the beast, Rayner’s agonized voice shredding at my heart. Sivulk seemed to sense that and grinned at me lopsidedly.

  Suddenly Hazel was being dragged out, too. And Sivulk was demanding the real Moonstone.

  It was a relief when my mouth was freed and I heard myself saying the most outrageous things. All to hide how badly I was shaking, how hard my heart was beating. If this didn’t work…

  “Nothing up my sleeve,” I heard myself say as I was let go. “Only in my pocket.” The Moonstone pulsed in my hand as I pulled it out.

  Sivulk’s eyes gleamed and he reached for it, claws flashing, but the Pale Eye had reached out and gripped my arm, shedding the sunglasses and bandana.

  From afar, I heard Burr’s incredulous shout, “What the hell is going on? Willow?”

  Then Kalin and Hazel were there, holding on as well, and the Moonstone flashed with pure white light, blinding us but sheltering us, and causing Sivulk unbelievable pain. He screamed and flailed, crouching and skittering back, clawing at his eyes and roaring in a foul language.

  At that moment, the five Hotshots darted forward, shifting and springing at him.

  A crackle sounded in my ears and I glanced around. “Sky found it. Let’s go.”

  “Oh,” Kalin said in a low murmur. “Oh no, they can’t…”

  I turned to see the shifters trying to fight back Sivulk. But he was too strong, too powerful, and easily swatted them aside no matter how many times they dove at him. His eyes found me and I jumped. But then Rayner was there, snarling and throwing fire at it, distracting him.

  “Let’s go. Now,” I said and we ran, racing towards the forest and the split peak, where the Deadlands Gate lay. Sky was visible at the base, her blonde hair shining as she danced from foot to foot. She’d already marked the wall with the symbols Aunt Sil had given her.

  The Elders had wanted to come, but Hazel didn’t think she could transport that many people. Plus, there was an unspoken agreement that we wanted to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. No unnecessary sacrifices.

  Yet even as I thought that, I saw an Ash Walker lumbering towards us, suddenly knocked aside by a huge bear.

  “Big Bear,” Willow said. “They must have followed Rayner.”

  A crow dipped low in front of us and we kept running. The landscape seemed to shift and change, growing darker and deadlier. Green melted to gray, while the shadows pooled and became darker. Noxious fumes rose up and smoke covered the sky.

  “An in-between place,” Hazel said. “We’re close.”

  Rushing up to Sky, we saw there was ash in her hair and her eyes were on the sky. “Vultures. And birds fleeing.”

  I glanced up to see she was right. “Appropriate.”

  We walked up to the cliff-face. Here were Sky’s symbols, along with an ancient drawing of the moon and stars, simple and lovely in its design, also upon the wall.

  Hazel’s fingers traced across it, “Wes drew this. The first time,” she murmured.

  “What?” Kalin gave her a shocked look and Hazel shook her head.

  “Sorry, another time. Here, Kay.” Hazel took the Moonstone from me and placed it in her hands. “Place it against the wall. You’ll know where.”

  “I wouldn’t!” rang out a voice and we turned as one.

  Soren had followed us. I flinched away from the sight of Rayner’s half-brother, his body now rent in two. I hadn’t been sure what would happen when Sivulk was in this world, but now I did.

  The boy, or man, had been split down the middle. Half-Skinwalker, half-human.

  Yet his blood had been the key to freeing the four other hotshots. It was almost ironic.

  “Get out of here, Soren!” Sky shouted, stepping forward, and Willow caught her shoulders.

  “No, please, you don’t understand. The solstice…” His face twisted and he snarled. “Fine, do what you will. Don’t blame me when it doesn’t work out the way you expected.”

  “He’s trying to trick us,” Sky said in a voice of terrible contempt. “Don’t listen.”

  The solstice? I wondered as something nagged in the back of my head.

  “Hurry!” Hazel urged Kalin, who lifted the Moonstone and placed it against the wall. Immediately, it depressed against the stone and we each reached out, laying a hand over Kalin’s.

  “Turn it to the east! Right!” I called out.

  But as we did so, pain suddenly lanced through my body and I fell to my knees, gasping. Looking down at my shaking hands, I thought I could see my veins glowing red, pulsing. Then the color slowly faded away, leaving a terrible ache. “What-what is happening?”

  “Told you so,” Soren muttered mulishly, flinching as though he were in the same pain.

  “Paige, no.” Sky had grabbed my hands and stared at them, then at me. “Oh, no.”

  Something between a roar and a scream echoed through the mountains. The five coyotes burst from the woods, running towards us. Crashing and lumbering could be heard from behind.

  Wes shifted back first, shaking his head and wincing. “Sivulk is growing in strength with each minute and the forest is dying. Soon it will be nothing but tinder.”

  Burr, Ben, and Cree shifted back, saying nothing and turning to guard us.

  But Rayner ran straight at me before shifting back. Looking at Sky who was holding my hands, then me, his chest rose and fell. “Paige, no, please tell me this isn’t happening.”

  “You were clever,” Soren spoke up in that same tone, “but it was your undoing.”

  “The blood,” I murmured as he sank down next to me.

  An expression of blank horror came over Rayner’s face and then he gritted out, “Tell me you didn’t do this on purpose.” His fists clenched the ground. “It should have been just me.”

  “I didn’t, Rayner.” I shakily got to my feet. “But I would’ve done it no matter what.”

  He lurched to his feet and grabbed me. “This isn’t your fight! This is my burden.”

  “Oh, Coyote,” I said, touching his face. “No. It’s always been a shared one. And you have struggled with that since the first moment I met you.”

  Something flickered in Rayner’s eyes and he let out a weak laugh. “You remembered.”

  I nodded. “Two tricksters. Who would’ve thought?”

  “Um, anyone care to make things claro?” Cree piped up.

  At that moment Sivulk appeared, as the trees in front of it fell in a wave of ash and smoke. He’d grown into a beast of monstrous size, looming over us and leering. Following him were Ash Walkers, and the sky above became as black as pitch.

  I gripped Rayner’s hand. All I felt was a bittersweet wish for more time. Not just with Rayner, but the rest of my family. What-if’s floated through my head as I looked around and then met Rayner’s eyes. There was a look of both gratitude and grief in them.

  A peaceful feeling then descended on me. At least he won’t face this alone.

  Chapter 19

/>   Paige had a serene, soft smile on her face and her eyes were fearless.

  And it was like I could hear her thoughts.

  You thought you could leave me behind, didn’t you? Guess again.

  But still, my heart was torn in two. As much as I wanted to scream and beg for a reprieve, I couldn’t take this away from her. Even though it was causing me unbelievable agony, I also had to respect her choice. I was awed by her.

  “You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” Sivulk asked, laughing. “I saw you fall in pain, Coyote. Sensed the Red Hare’s mirrored agony. It was mine as well. When you freed me, I took care to ensnare your blood magic with mine. Any attempt to send me back before the solstice and you two come with me.” He laughed. “You might be tricksters, but you can’t trick death.”

  There were outbursts of shock and horror from our friends. Our family.

  “Never was planning on it,” Paige said calmly.

  “No,” Sky said brokenly, as Cree held onto her, his blue eyes wide and in pain as I glanced at them. He shook his head, unable to speak as Sky clutched at him.

  “Take care of my sister, okay?” I asked.

  “Rayner, don’t do this. There’s always another way,” Burr said, his voice rasping.

  “Thor, no,” Wes growled.

  “Ray, Paige – it’s too high a price,” Ben begged.

  “Is it?” I asked. “For all you? No, little brother, it isn’t.”

  “Ugh, you sound like him.” Sivulk spat. “I’m sure you remember, pup. The first battle.” His eyes gleamed and I remembered when six had become five, a great white coyote friend passing on without them, but always watching over them.

  Sivulk had been bound, but it came at the price of Akba Atatdia leaving the earth for the sky.

  “There’s always a price, isn’t there?” I asked softly.

  “Always.” He grinned. “Though, I have to say, if it involves ending two tricksters for the price of one, maybe I didn’t make out so badly after all. With only four left, how could you stop me?”

  “As they always have,” I said calmly, remembering my dreams about the ending of the cycle. Looking over, I saw Soren, his split face filled with agony. He flinched at my gaze, as though preparing himself for hatred or harsh words.

  For a second I hesitated, realizing that with Soren’s name, we could bind Sivulk back to his cage, never to re-emerge. But as I looked at my older brother, I couldn’t do it.

  “Soren,” I said slowly and smiled at him. “I hope when this over, you find peace. That you become healed and whole again. Go see our mother. And know this, I forgive you.”

  A great weight seemed to lift off my chest and now I smiled widely at Sivulk. “I don’t suppose you’ll just sit there and wait while we lock the gate, will you?”

  He snorted and let out a roar. Shifting for what may have been the last time, I darted towards it, driving it back as my brothers leaped after me. Their grief was palpable and their fury unchecked. Never had we fought like that, shaking the earth and sky.

  For a moment, I could feel a white-hot warmth on my chest, connecting the five of us in an endless chain. I’m sorry to break it, I thought. I have no choice.

  “Soren!” Sky suddenly screamed, distracting me, and then Sivulk let out a piercing cry.

  Stumbling back, we watched as Sivulk began to shrink, clawing at his chest and then the ground, whipping his head back and forth. “What did you do?” He roared. “No, this can’t be!”

  “Soren Ivo Fairbanks,” rang out a clear voice.

  All of the Ash Walkers vanished and a fresh, cool breeze streamed from the east.

  I turned, in spite of myself, to see my brother standing with his hand on the Moonstone. He’d turned it east and the stone was now embedded in the rock face.

  “You knew,” Soren panted, the red fading from his eyes as his body became wholly human. “Sivulk, if you were in a human form, you couldn’t be bound by ivy and thorn. But you could be bound by a name.” Soren glanced at me. “You knew my brother wouldn’t make that kind of sacrifice if he could sacrifice himself. But I won’t let him. This is my atonement, meager as it may be.”

  “No!” Sivulk screamed, racing towards him.

  As he ran, Sivulk became a figure of shadow and fire, with one eye burning red and the other bright blue. Just as he reached Soren, he became nothing but ash, vanishing on the wind.

  Sunlight lanced across the landscape, lighting up the rock face and I looked up to see a crescent moon hanging in the pale blue sky between the torn dark clouds.

  “Soren!” I gasped, running towards him as he slid down the rocks, hands flying to his chest.

  “No, stop. I don’t deserve it. Your forgiveness, your love.” His eyes were bright. “Your blood woke me up, brother, out of a nightmare of years. My humanity was restored, as much as it could be.” Closing his eyes, Soren whispered. “I’m sorry for being so weak. So jealous.”

  “No, Soren,” I fell to my knees. “You were so young.”

  “I wasn’t. If anything, I was old before my time,” he panted. “I heard Sivulk offer you what he offered me. And you turned him down. You know the true value to be found in this world. In friendship, love, and brotherhood. Family.” He paused. “I was greedy. I glutted my ego.”

  “Soren,” Sky was next to me, reaching for him.

  He flinched away, a sliver of blue showing between his lids. “No, do not try to comfort me. This is but a shadow of the man I could have been. The brother.” A tear slipped down his face. “If I could be so lucky, perhaps what is good in me can guard this place and keep away other young fools. And know this – Sivulk will never go free again. He will never enter this world again.”

  Sky gripped my hand and I reached for Soren. A peaceful smile crossed our older brother’s face. And then, as the sunlight grew brighter, he lifted his eyes to the sky and let out a breath. We could see through him now; he was fading away.

  And then he was gone.

  Sky let out a gasp and I wrapped an arm around her. “I know,” I murmured into her hair. “I know, baby sister. Shh, I got you.”

  “Look,” Paige whispered, her hand landing on my back.

  I raised my head to see a vine had sprouted up from the ground, spreading and dancing across the rock face, blue flowers opening.

  Pulling Sky to her feet, I hugged her, brushing the ash from her hair. Cree came up next to me, looking shell-shocked. Once I let her go, he threw himself at me, then I was pulled into Burr’s bone-crushing embrace, Wes’s quick one, and Ben’s grateful one.

  “I’m sorry, Ray,” Ben said softly as he stepped back, and I gripped his arm in thanks.

  Then we turned, surveying the damage from Sivulk. Ahead of us, the forest had been reduced to a wasteland.

  Crowfoot dropped out of the sky next to us, also coated in ash and shaking his head. “It goes back a few miles. But hey, no more Ash Walkers, right?”

  Ben was glancing around thoughtfully and he said with bitter irony, “Well, I think this might be the exact kind of environmental disaster that might do in Viper Fuel.”

  “And we can regrow the forest,” Hazel said. “No matter how long it takes.”

  “Of course,” Cree agreed. “Badass guardians of the wilderness.”

  “I’ll say,” said a cheerful voice. Aunt Sil appeared, walking through the landscape with Big Bear. “I’m sorry to have missed it. What happened?”

  A sudden, staggering sense of relief went through me. “It’s over. Sivulk is gone and the gate is locked. Soren did it. He saved us,” I said. “He sacrificed himself.”

  Aunt Sil’s eyes went wide and she gazed at the rock face behind us. “‘All things are connected like the blood that unites us all,’” she quoted and paused. “‘Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.’” Her smile became soft. “As fire burns, it also purifies. That was you, Rayner. Your fire burned out the sickness of the coyotes and your brother through Paige. And you all did it – you came together – and s
o the mountains did not burn.”

  Instead of cheering, we fell silent, glancing at each other in a shared sense of awe and sorrow. At the joy of being together and the sorrow at the cost.

  Aunt Sil, Crowfoot, and Big Bear began walking, the rest of my brothers and the girls following, pairing off. Conversation was quiet and tender, with the shaky, strange realization that, for better or worse, it was over. We’d come together and won.

  Lagging behind, I stopped and turned to gaze at the rock face one more time. The landscape was quieter, the shadows less harsh, and there was a sense of hard-won peace over everything. Somewhere, high up in the pines, a bird began to sing.

  “Rayner,” came a soft voice.

  Paige was standing next to me, her expression worried and she laid a hand on my arm.

  There were so many things I had to say to her. Questions I had to ask too. But all of that could wait. Instead, I hugged her and whispered, “Thank you,” against her hair.

  Her hands were tight on my back as she stepped away and stared up at me. “Don’t leave. I know you were thinking about taking on some kind of mountain man penance, but stay. Please. Besides, do you think there’s anywhere you can go where your brothers can’t find you? Where I can’t find you?” Eyes becoming glassy, Paige stamped her foot. “Stay with us. With me.”

  “Why?” I asked, unable to resist teasing her.

  With a fierce look, Paige said, “Why do you think? I love you.”

  “Paige,” I murmured. “I love you, too.”

  Pulling her face to mine, I kissed her. As we broke apart, catcalls and wolf whistles split the air. I glanced over to see Cree, Ben, Wes, and Burr laughing, waving, and winking.

  She made a face. “Coyotes.”

  “Package deal, rabbit,” I joked, slinging an arm around her as we walked towards them.

  “Believe me, I know.” She smiled. “But it’s what’s been missing in my life. Family.”

  At those words, my heart swelled and I gazed up at the clearing sky. For months, it seemed as though everything was closing in on me. But now, it was as if everything had opened up. Out of betrayal and anger had come a new brotherhood and hope.